The Christmas That Kept Giving
by JosephineInTheDark
Summary: "What?" Dan and Natalie exclaimed at the same time. Sometimes they are just too immature, Amy thought to her self. (Maybe review a little? Please? Yes I'm updating. And yes I know I'm going straight to heck for my prolonged absence!)
1. Chapter 1

"What!?" Dan and Natalie exclaimed at the same time. _Sometimes they are just too immature_, Amy thought to her self.

Amy had just gotten through with explaining to Dan and Natalie that while her and Ian would be investigating an explosion in Paris, Dan and Natalie would be working together in the CCC to help them with research. Worst of all, it was right before Christmas. It probably also wasn't a very good idea to have the Kabra's fly out at three in the morning to Boston when she and Ian had a five a.m. flight to Paris.

"Why can't you and I go to Paris instead? We don't need these Cobra's!" Whined Dan. "Plus Christmas is only five days away. This trip will take at least a week."

"We're going to be doing a lot a interrogating, so I could use a Lucian. Plus Uncle Fiske thought it would be a good opportunity to bond." Amy said.

"Fine, take your stupid boyfriend to Paris and investigate. I'll just be stuck here with the she-Cobra for Christmas." Dan grumbled, while Amy turned redder than a firetruck.

"H-he's n-not my boyfriend" _I _will_ end this stutter, _Amy thought to herself.

Natalie, who had been surprisingly quiet, finally spoke up, "Wait, let me get this straight. You woke me up and got me on a plane at three a.m. to Attleboro just to tell me that while Dan and I are here in the CCC you and my brother will be investigating in beautiful Paris, yes?"

"That's right Natalie," said her big brother, " Also, Fiske wanted me to remind you all that he and Nellie will be off to Italy in two days to meet with us. Also, try not to kill each other while we're gone."

Natalie was still letting it sink in. _I'll have to spend a week with Daniel Cahill. Working with him and breathing his peasant air. While be brother gets to go to Paris with the girl of his dreams._

"This is so unfair!" Natalie screamed and ran out of the room.

* * *

They were all stunned. Even Ian didn't think she'd take it that badly. At the sound of a slamming door Nellie rushed into the room since Fiske was out for the day.

"What was that noise?" She yelled when she burst into the room, gun poised in hand.

"We just got through tell Natalie the news, and she did not take it well." explained Ian, "So she stormed out and slammed the door. Perhaps I should go talk to her..."

He started to trail off as he began to walk in the direction of his siter.

"Wait. You have to be at the airport in half an hour and once you're gone, she'll have to learn to deal with Dan on her own so I say we make Dan go and talk to her" Nellie said matter-of-factly.

Dan didn't like the sound of that, but it was true. They were gonna have to deal with one another. "I see your point, but I don't like it. I will go talk to her." And with that, he went to find her.

It wasn't to hard to find her. She was right outside the room sitting on a love seat fixing her make up. _My goodness she's a princess,_ Dan thought. _And I'm stuck with her for the next week._ He walked up to her.

"Um, hey. He said.

"Hello Daniel." She said. _Why does she sound so congested? It's not _that _cold in the mansion._

She sniffled. Dan sighed. "Look I'm just gonna get right to it. I'm not happy about spending a week alone with you either and I'm _especially _not happy about spending my Christmas with you. And I know you feel the same way.But that doesn't give you the right to start slamming doors and breaking my house. So let's just agree to not kill each other and help our weird lovesick siblings alright?"

She finally looked up at him with red eyes. _W-was she-no. Impossible. _"Fine. We have no other choice anyway." She dramatically pushed him out of her way as she burst back into the living room. _That was really weird, even for a Cobra._ Dan thought as he casually walked back into the living room.

Amy and Dan said their goodbyes with a reluctant hug from Dan that only made Amy giggle. She was going to miss him so much. They had never spent a Christmas apart. Amy and Nellie just waved goodbye with a "See you soon kiddo!" From Nellie. Natalie gave her brother a big bear hug while holding back tears that only Ian knew were there. He whispered to her, "Try not to kill the poor boy, I'm in love with his sister remember? I can't have her grieving." He earned a small smile from me as they parted. They all waved as they got in the limo to the airport and as Dan and Natalie would deal with a life changing Christmas. 


	2. Chapter 2

Nellie couldn't sleep that night. She wanted to make sure Amy and Ian got to Paris safely, so she waited for Amy to text her the moment they landed. When she finally texted her at 12 in the afternoon she felt some sense of peace. The morning had been bumpy with a tired Fiske and Nellie preparing cereal for breakfast for a grumpy Natalie and an overly tired Dan. The Princess had grumbled the whole time about what Nellie only assumed to be how she was being treated as low class. She was really just to tired to care. Dan was barley able to put a spoon in his mouth to eat. Afterward she sent the two of them to the CCC to keep watch on the monitors on Paris just in case of any suspicious activity. She was tired and she needed to take a shower. NOW.

Natalie was really hurting. She was quite disheartened that Ian would be in Paris for Christmas. They always stuck together on the holidays, especially since their parents had left them for good. She had even had a short crying session yesterday. Until that brute Daniel had found her. He was rude and blunt in her eyes, but she knew he had a point. She figured angering the beast would only make it worse so she had just grumbled to herself at breakfast. She didn't need him to know that she was deeply bothered by this set up. She was longingly gazing at a shot of a cafe window filled with exotic pastries in the CCC. Oh how she missed her brother, not to mention beautiful French cuisine. Bottom line, she missed her brother and didn't really feel like confiding in Dan oddly enough.

Just at that moment he walked toward her, "Hey I'm super bored. You know what we should do? We should send out a fake distress message on the Cahill message bored."

_How stupid could he be?, _"Daniel we could freak out a lot of people and get in a lot of trouble. Why do you think this is a good idea?" She was exasperated.

"It's not like Amy and Ian are gonna need our help. I'm not even sure why they stuck us together." He said, "I would rather spend Christmas with a cockroach" Dan grumbled to himself as he sulked away.

"Maybe we could play a game." Natalie said, even to her surprise.

"Such as?" Dan asked.

"How about 'Would You Rather'?" She offered.

"Okay fine. You go first." _Maybe this won't be so ba-wait. What am I saying!?_

"Okay. Hmmmm..." She was thinking very vividly, "Would you rather go on a date with Madison Holt or Reagan Holt?" Natalie asked.

"Really Nat?" He asked impaitently.

"Yes, it's a real question! Is it not!?" She answered.

He rolled his eyes, "Fine. Reagan."

She cocked her head to the side, "Really? That was fast. Why?"

"Easy," he said, "she does ballet. I could have her dance for me the whole time, I wouldn't have to do a thing and she would be perfectly happy. She loves preforming."

"Well put," she said, "okay, now you ask me a question"

He stroked his chin and imaginary beard, "Well, here goes. Who would you rather date, Notorious B.I.G. or Tupac?"

Natalie had a blank look in her eyes, "Who in the world are you talking about?"

Dan's eyes widened in horror, "You don know who Notorious B.I.G. or Tupac is!?" He yelled.

"No! I only listen to attractive boy bands!" She yelled.

Dan faced palmed himself and dragged it down his face. "You have got to be kidding me." He said in a mundane voice.

"What?," she asked, "It's a reason to love them."

"But that's not a reason to love their _music_." He said impatiently, "Do they _sound_ good or do they just _look_ good?"

"Who cares what they sound like, they look beautiful to me" She said picturing the Backstreet Boys in her head with a dreamy look on her face.

"They're all made up with makeup, under the mask they look like _normal_ people." Dan said slightly saddened by the thought that she only saw beauty under a face filled in and blotted with cosmetics. _How does she see herself?, _he wondered.

"Well it's not like I ever had the chance to listen at anything else." She spat at him with fire in her eyes and words, "My mother only let me listen to 'music of the tween girl types' as she called it."

"Well hey, don't get mad at me! It's not like I made you listen to that crap music just to stay within the norm." They were practically yelling at each other now.

"You're just jealous because you didn't have parents to force you to do things like the rest of us have!" She couldn't help but feel a little twinge of remorse in her stomach once the words were out of her mouth. She wondered if it showed on her face.

Dan thought he saw a splash of pain and regret in her eyes once the words were out in the air, but he was to blinded my anger and rage to really get a good look at it. "Don't you ever say those words to me again Natalie Kabra. You hear me? If you ever try to spit that stuff in my face again I will tear you apart emotionally. We _both _know I'm capable of doing that." He was practically right up on her face now. He could see she was sweating.

_ I didn't know he was capable of this kind of rage, _she thought in the midst of the tornado in her mind _as impressive as it is, I can't help but fell terrifyingly entranced right now._

He could feel the anger seeping out of every pore on his body. He didn't want it to go away because it fueled him to feel powerful and more superior than her, and he knew he would need that if he were to survive a week, half of witch would be alone, with this snake right in front of him now. _I will stare her down like this for the rest of my life if it keeps her in line from now on. _

Neither of them till this day are really quite sure how long they stood like that for. It was intense, exciting, terrifying, hopeful foreign and entrancing all at the same time. They didn't know why they were stuck like that, staring into each others eyes searching for the answers to all the questions that had bubbled up in them at the mention of both of their most tender topics, their parents.

To finally break them apart from their search it took Nellie opening the door allowing Saladin to run in and brush up against Dan's leg begging for attention.

"Lunch's ready little ones!" Nellie called on her way back down to the kitchen.

After a silent lunch of Indian biryani, Dan and Natalie walked back up to the CCC and sat there for the rest of the day fiddling with things but not really paying attention. Not even bothering to come down for dinner. They were too preoccupied by the memories, questions, problems and pain with their parents. They didn't even talk to each other. They just sat there. Once Fiske gave them the okay to go to bed and leave the center for the night, they quietly said goodnight to each other and walked off to their rooms still in a trance. Their odd parting left a slightly confused and very curious Fiske in it's wake.

After about the three-hundredth time of trying to rearrange her pillows to fall asleep, Natalie gave up and decided to ask Dan where she could get a few extra ones. It was the middle of the night so she made sure to be quiet knowing that at the slightest sound Nellie would spring into kill mode. By time she got to Dan's door, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward concidering the days events. She knocked on his door.

He got there surprisingly quickly, eyes blood shot. She was a little taken back seeing him like that but went through with asking him anyway.

"Oh no problem," he answered, "Here, just take a few from my room, I can't sleep anyway." He was a little confused at her appearance and squinted his eyes a little.

She looked down at the pillows gratefully, "Thank you Daniel." She said in a slightly drowsy voice. Just the look of the pillows made her mind want to shut down and sleep. She looked up and saw Dan squinting at her. "You alright there Daniel?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

"You look younger." He said bluntly.

She frowned. "I didn't reverse the aging process Daniel."

Then he got it. "Maybe it's just the lack of makeup." He said with the slightest smirk on his face.

She tried to shield part of her face with the pillows. "I take it off when I sleep, just like everyone else. No big deal." She said a little too quickly.

"I guess I'm just not used to seeing you look our age." He said again very bluntly. "Either that or sleep deprivation." He said that with a goofy smile on his face and in his voice.

She suddenly felt very self conscious and wanted to get the heck out of there. "Well thank you for the pillows Daniel. Goodnight." She said "And sorry about what I said today" she said right before she left.

She made it half way down the hall and he didn't say anything so she thought she got off cleanly. But that's when he said it.

"It's all good Miss. K.. Sorry 'bout getting all up in your face by the way dawg." He said with a clumsy spin and double point in her direction. He then walked back into his room.

Natalie stood there in the middle of the hallway stunned. _I should really study sleep deprivation, _she thought. _It really does make people do crazy things. _

That night they both got very little sleep. But did have interesting dreams when they did...


	3. Chapter 3

Natalie woke up bright and early that morning. The memory of her vibrant dream still fading, but still real at the same time. Natalie was startled. Not scared, just startled. She put on her cloths and brushed her teeth feeling like a zombie, numb and just watching the world past by. She wanted to stay like that so she could still stay in her dream. She liked it even though she still didn't understand it. Somewhere at the end of her dream like state while she was sitting at the table for breakfast, a voice in the back of her head said, _just tell Nellie. She standing right there. Maybe she'll know what it means. _As if on cue, she snapped out of her mind and into reality and immediately asked Nellie, "Nellie, if someone dreams about almost kissing there friend and then wakes up because they start falling in the dream, what could that mean?"

Nellie was slightly startled and looked at her with curiosity in her eyes "What do you mean by 'falling' kiddo?"

"I was about to kiss them but the floor beneath me fell through and I was just falling. I wasn't yelling of resisting. I was just accepting the falling into the unknown even though I was sure the unknown was something dangerous. Maybe even lethal." Natalie said quickly and efficiently, slightly falling back into that dream like state.

Nellie had to snap her fingers in front of her face just to bring her back to her. "Hey, I'm not fully sure what that means exactly but I know it must have been scary." She said in a comforting voice that brought tears to Natalie's eyes. "All I know for sure is that you shouldn't worry about it and that you're safe here with me right now." She was confident yet comforting.

Natalie let a tear roll down her cheek. "Thank you Nellie." She said, barley a whisper. "I feel like I could talk to you about anything."

Nellie smiled and wiped her tear away. "You can always count on me kid, I'm always here." She paused. "Now eat your breakfast. Food will take your mind off it. And that special friend of yours." She said with a wink.

Natalie ate quietly trying to think of dress designs as apposed to her odd dream. She saw Fiske come in for breakfast and gave him a humble smile as she ate and he smiled back. It was a nice comfy morning. All just closed to their thoughts. When the time came Fiske told Natalie to go up to the CCC just like the day before. That's when she realized-

"Wait, but where's Daniel?" She asked as if just noticing he was missing for the first time. Which she was.

"Oh I ran into him when I got up. He said he wasn't hungry and he would just go to the CCC first thing in the morning. That's why I let you sip here for a little while longer if you didn't notice." He said gesturing to the clock. "Besides, you seemed a little preoccupied." She said with a what only Natalie could realize was a small smirk.

"Thank you Fiske." She said graciously. "Also thank you for the delicious pancakes Nellie!" She said with an honest smile and walked out of the room.

Nellie looked at Fiske with the most confused look on her face. "I just cooked scrambled eggs for her and she ate them. Like, two seconds ago."

Natalie walked into the CCC expected to find an over tired and half asleep Dan in the room but actually found a bright eyed, bushy-tailed boy hoping around the room to 'Walking On Sunshine'. He greeted her with a big smile.

"Hey Natalie good to see ya!" _And don't it feel good hey alright now..._

On the inside, she was floored. On the outside she didn't care. "Hello Daniel. Nice to see you too. Didn't you want any breakfast?" _I'm walking on sunshine_

The song cut off abruptly.

"Too happy to eat!" he said dancing around despite the song ending abruptly.

"Alright then...might I ask why you're so happy?" She asked 'uninterestedly'

"Had a good dream last night. I think it's a sigh of good things to come." He said with a goofy click of his heels.

_Like a Disney character. _Natalie thought to herself. "What was so fantastic about it?" She said slightly showing her genuine interest.

"Nothing other the top. I just didn't have a nightmare." He said leaning against a chair. He seemed so in his comfort zone as he casually leaned against the chair. Natalie seemed to be awkwardly standing in the door way. Very out of her comfort zone.

"Oh come on, it had to be better than that. You were dancing like a fool when I walked in for goodness sakes!" She wasn't even bothering to keep a snooty demeanor now. It was as if she were play-fighting with an old friend.

"Well, I was hanging out with an old friend and I just had this really light feeling in my stomach. Like when I was little and stuff was really simple you know?" He said defiantly.

She was confused. She had forgotten what it was like to feel light and safe ever since the kidnapping. She wished with all her heart that she could remember. She almost envied Dan for his wondrous dream. But she was happy for him at the same time. It must be nice for him. If she couldn't feel that way, at least he could. She hadn't realized that she had been standing there like a statue thinking these things for a good ten minutes. Dan waved him hand in front of her face.

"Hey earth to Natalie! Time to stop dreaming we have to fix some things on Gideon from down here, not up there." He said pointing to the ceiling.

"Oh right." She said still a little dazed.

They worked together to fix some loose wiring on the shuttle. It went relativity smoothly and with a little help from an Ekat and skipping lunch they fixed it before dinner. Once they were done they just sat around staring at screens for half and hour before they were called down for dinner. Dinner was quiet, with Nellie and Fiske talking over their planes to jet off to Paris tomorrow. That's when Fiske droped what Natalie considered a bomb.

"Dan, don't forget to put up the tree tomorrow and decorate the house. Even though we won't be here doesn't mean you and Natalie have to miss out on the festivities of the Holiday." He said with a sense of authority.

"Sure thing Uncle Fiske" Dan said with a giant smile showing off bits of his Bangers and Mash that they were having for dinner.

Natalie was confused. "Wait why are you putting them up tomorrow in Christmas Eve? I thought they weren't going up at all because I didn't see any when I first got here." She asked. "What's the point in waiting?"

Dan explained, "We're never sure if we're going to be home for Christmas, so we leave all the decorating until the the night before so we know we'll be there to enjoy them the next day." He said, "Plus it gets you really psyched up for opening your presents the next day" He said his eyes big as saucers like a little boys.

Natalie thought about it. "Makes sense." She said, "Why wast the time if you're never gonna enjoy the fruits of your labors?" She said matter-of-factly.

"Alright kiddos," Nellie was saying as she was clearing the dishes, "It's going to be a big day tomorrow so we better all get our beauty sleep to be ready for it. Off to bed, all of you" She waved them out of the kitchen.

On their way to their rooms Natalie was a little curious about what the decorations were in America. "Daniel, what exactly are we going to do tomorrow?" She asked.

"We'll put up the tree, the wreaths, the stockings, all that kind of stuff." He said with a small smile.

"Oh." Natalie said, her mind swarming with thoughts and predictions of tomorrow.

"But we'll have to make you a stocking to so we'll have to carve out some extra time." Dan said informatively.

"We don't have to. I'm not a child anymore Daniel." She said in a superior tone.

"Oh come on, it's the holidays! Time to keep the child in us alive!" He said jumping around as he had earlier.

It was to much energy for an extremely tired Natalie to even be next to. "Alright, fine." She said throwing her hands up in the air. "We'll tackle it tomorrow. Nellie and Fiske's flight leaves at six a.m., so we'll get up at five to see them off. Agreed?" She asked slightly annoyed he was keeping her from sleeping.

"Agreed." He said and he shook her hand, which she hadn't even offered. On that note he went straight to his room. Natalie was to tired to even comment so she also went to her room.

Natalie had had a twisted nightmare. It started off cherry with elves, but then they morphed into horrible creatures that were like nothing of this world. She could only think they were of the next, trying to steal her away to take her back to their realm of the unknown terrors that would only haunt her very waking and non waking moment of her existence. She did not want to go with them. As a result she woke up crying loudly, her throat raw with the anguish of working over time in her sleep. She turned on every light in her room and collapsed on her bed and began pounding the sheets with her fists out of fear and pain. She was scared of those things and she had to face them all alone she thought. What hurt worst of all was that she was all alone. Just then an alert looking Dan bust into the room causing her voice to catch in her throat so she couldn't even sleep. Immediately her held on to her shoulders, lightly but firmly, and began singing.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when sky's are gray. You'll never know dear how much I love you. So please don't take my sunshine away." He had a beautiful singing voice not many people knew about.

She didn't know it, but as he was singing he was studying her eyes. And what he say in them worried him deeply. There was the fear and terror he expected but also an icy cold edge that not many people possessed. She was a mystery to most people, but he could see clearly in her eyes that she was not okay upstairs. It was a mess up there that could take years to straighten out. He wasn't sure how to help but he knew he had to. He decided that for tonight all he should do is help get her to sleep. He kept singing the same song as he wiped her tears, took her to the kitchen to get her a drink and as he set her down on the bed to get some sleep. He told her to close her eyes and she did. She hadn't taken her eyes off him a moment before. He continued to sing until the first hours of the morning. He wasn't sure if she was asleep or awake, but he knew he would have to be there is she woke up again and had another episode. He dosed off without even realizing and waited for morning to come when he could talk to Nellie about it. It was always nice having an adult there so you didn't have to make all the on your own.


	4. Chapter 4

Dan woke up at five a.m. Right on the dot. He was groggy at first but when he realized he was lying down next to Natalie, he remembered. He was filled with concern once more. He decided not to mention it to her if she didn't remember. What was the point in freaking her out even more if she didn't remember a reason to flip? He silently got up and walked out of the room. He would wake her up at five thirty to say bye to Nellie and Fiske. He went off looking for Nellie.

Of coarse he found her in the kitchen munching on a good old fashion American burger. She looked content. It was time to drop the bomb. "Uh, Nellie," He started off awkwardly, "I need your help with something." He asked, the uncertainty written all over his face.

She looked at him curiously and put her burger down. "What's up kiddo?" She asked, "Everything alright?"

"Not really." Dan said. "Natalie had a nightmare last night. She was screaming and crying. I had to calm her down and get her a glass of water for her to fall asleep again." Dan was drumming his fingers on the table now. He was talking at a clipped pace, his worry evident.

"You don't say..." Nellie drifted off for a moment recalling the conversation she and Natalie had had the day before. And the way she was after "This isn't good Dan." Nellie said with certainty, "I took a couple psychology courses before and I can tell you this, she's not all alright upstairs." She hated to break it to the guy, but it was the truth.

"But how is that possible?" He asked, desperate now for answers, "She's always acting like herself. Only when she sleeps she gets these weird episodes!" He was screaming now. Fear and rage welling up inside him.

Fiske rushed into the room. "What's going on in here?" He said his voice a little louder than usual.

Nellie quickly explained the situation. Then a very disheartened Dan spoke up. "I just want to help her." He said in a quiet voice. "I know Mom would want me to." He said almost talking to himself.

Nellie put a gentle hand on his arm. "Dan I-"

"Why dose everybody look so haunted?" A slightly confused and half asleep Natalie asked.

Dan looked at Nellie with a 'oh-crap-what-do-we-do-now!?' look in his eye. She smoothly filled in for him. "Dan was just trying to get in on my last little bit of American fast food before I hit the streets of Paris." She said with a slight smile and a joking punch in the arm to Dan. She flashed him a 'go-with-it-darn-it!' glance. He received her message.

"Yeah. I decided to hold off on breakfast for now though." He said with a small shrug.

It was Natalie's turn to flash a look. She opted for a 'sure-whatever-I'm-just-here-to-say-bye' look. Complete with a blink and a head scratch. She grabbed a glass of water and turned on the T.V. leaving the Take-Care-of-Nat. crew on their own.

After a few minutes it was time to send of Fiske and Nellie. With a few hugs, high fives and a merry Christmas or two Fiske and Nellie were in the cab and off to the air port. Dan and Natalie stood there bored. "What do you wanna do now?" He asked.

"I'm still too tired to actually do work." She said with a bit of attitude. "Let's eat something and then start decorating. Alright?"

"Alright." He said feeling slightly startled she didn't seem to remember ;ast night events.

Dan made scrambled eggs and toast, while Natalie relaxed and watched television while her breakfast was being made like a princess. They ate in silence while they flipped through cartoons and news really with no purpose to watch anything. After the end of a news piece on a rescued puppy from a burning house Natalie asked Dan about their decorating.

"How long will it take?" She asked.

"Probably the whole day." He answered blandly.

"Where do you keep the decorations?" She asked.

"The attic." He answered unexcited.

"Is there any special way that we need to decorate it?" She asked.

"Nope, what ever your little heart desires." He answered lazily.

"Why are you so down?" She asked with concern.

"Just a little sad spending Christmas without Amy. Never did it before." He answered, his sorrow clear in his voice.

"I feel the same way about Ian." She answered, her pain clear in her voice.

They paused for a minute. "To the attic." They said in unison.

When they got up there Dan took down the boxes of decorations and handed them to Natalie below. They were marked with either 'Dan and Fisk" or 'Amy and Nellie'. Natalie asked why that was.

"Fiske and I have a similar style we prefer. Same with Amy and Nellie, just more complex. So, over the years we've bought separate decorations and decorated different parts of the house." He explained, "My team takes the study and kitchen, while, Nellie and Amy take the entrance. Inside and out." He said with a devilish grin on his face. "We all meet up to do the tree in the living room." He said, a little less evil in his smile.

Natalie was horrified on the inside. "So I have to decorate the out side too? In the snow?" She said as if it were just a casual question.

"Yup," Dan said with excitement, joy coming back to his voice. "Good luck!" He yelled as he was on his way down the stairs, boxes in his hands.

Natalie looked down at the boxes with dread filling in her stomach. _Well this should be interesting... _Natalie thought to herself. She picked up the 'Amy and Nellie' boxes and went on her way.

It turned out Amy and Nellie preferred more modern, classy, purple and white decorations with silver accents. Right up Natalie's ally. Natalie quickly threw some tinsel and glitter on the front porch, she really did not want to stay out there long. On the inside however, she put her heart and sole into it. She rimed the ceiling with a purple garland. Hung white and silver snowflakes from various heights and rolled our a purple runner over the entire length of the floor. It looked magnificent. Although she was missing the final perfect touch to bring it all together. That's when she reached into a box and found it. It was a little piece of mistletoe with a locket on it. She opened it and reveled a photo of a very happy and a very in love looking Arthur Trent and Hope Cahill kissing. She could barley recall what they looked like because she was so young when they passed away, but she had seen multiple pictures of them in Amy and Dan's house so she knew it was them. She couldn't help but see how much Dan looked like his father. She liked the piece of art, is was classy, simple and sophisticated. She would hang it up later when she could get Dan's help with a latter. She put it in her pocket and set off with the rest off the boxes to the living room to set up the tree with Dan.

Dan set up the study the same way he did every year, as he did the kitchen. Paper rings in a chain for the garland around the ceiling, paper snowmen and mittens hanging all around and bowls overflowing with candy canes and gingerbread in every room. It felt so homey and welcoming. Inviting everyone who walked in to take a seat, eat some gingerbread and relax to enjoy life. It was much of what he missed after the clue hunt. Maybe that's why he appreciated Christmas so much. He always used bit of mistletoe above the fridge as his finishing piece. He always ended up being the only one there at the middle of the night, so he was always good at not getting kissed. He looked back at his work and smiled to himself. This project had really brought back the Holiday cheer in him, despite a special call he had to make earlier to a close Ekat friend for a last minute gift. Still satisfied, he grabbed the other boxes and went to the living room to set up the tree with Natalie.

When they met up Dan simply said "Hey.". But what Natalie heard was "Hey, tell me all about what you did the the front and how all your British stuff is better than mine!". So she did. Dan drowned her out for the most part and by time he tuned her in again the six foot tall tree was put up and half decorated with their odd yet charming mixture of chic new ornaments and old school handcrafted decorations.

"...about it Dan?" He finally tuned in when he heard his name.

"Hmm? What's that Natalie?" He said, half caring.

"I asked what you thought about the tree so far git." She said slightly annoyed.

"Oh, I like it a lot." He answered honestly. "Normally Amy wants things to be perfect and is very careful about where everything goes, but you're much more chill about it."

"Well sometimes it's nice to have a little variety." She said with a shrug. "Oh, also you need to help me put the finishing piece on my part of the house when we're done here."

"Sure thing." He said joyfully, his mind still relishing the happiness of the festivities.

The next few hours were filled with them trimming the tree and singing Christmas carols and dancing with one another. Not remembering they had missed lunch. They were getting along like any other old pair of friends. A sight that would have been shocking to their siblings or relatives, but it felt perfectly natural for the two. They were so comfortable with each other. Dan almost forgetting his deep seeded concern for her. Natalie forgetting to leave an icy edge on her words.

Once they finished the tree they plopped on the couch, exhausted. Natalie put her head on Dan's shoulder and he placed his head on top of hers. "That was harder than I thought." Natalie admitted.

"Same here," Dan said, "I think we did more dancing singing than we did tree trimming." The tree did look a little disorganized.

"Well we're still not done." Natalie said getting up quickly causing Dan to almost fall over.

"What do you mean?" He asked getting up and following her out of the room.

"You still have to help me put up my final piece!" She said cheerily. "Oh, and grab a latter." She informed him.

He stopped them both in their tracks. "Wait. What do you need that's so extreme we need a latter?" He was slightly intrigued and scared at the same time.

"Nothing extreme silly." She laughed, "We just have to hang up this." She said taking the item out of her pocket to show him.

He looked at it. His mouth a gap. "You found this." He said his voice a whisper. "Thank you so much Natalie Kabra. I thought we lost this in the move" He said hugging her.

She hugged him back. "Anytime. I thought it was so adorable we should hang it on the chandler in the foyer." They let go.

"Oh we don't need a latter." He said confidently. "I can reach it now I'm tall enough." He smirked.

So off they went and hung it on the chandler. After that they went up to the CCC to make sure everything was okay in Paris and, of coarse, it was. They ate dinner and watch 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' before they went to bed. Before they went to their separate doors they said good night as usual. But what Natalie did not know was that Dan waited until he was sure she was asleep and went into her room and slept with her again. Just in case. It paid off too. She almost had an attack, twice. But he calmed her down before she could. He barley slept that night too. Heart still aching for the fact that he could barley help her. He just waited for Christmas day...


	5. Chapter 5

Christmas morning came to a very tired but very pleased Dan. Today his plan would be set in motion and, as a bonus, Christmas was here! Also, she might not like it, but his plan would happen come hell or high water. He quietly got up from Natalie's bed as he had the day before to go brush his teeth and go make a big Christmas breakfast of multiple types of pancakes. On his way to the bathroom, he couldn't help but realized he kind of liked the feeling of having Natalie sleep on his shoulder and cuddle on his arm. _Whoa, what was that all about?, _he asked himself when he realized what he was saying in his head. He blamed it on hunger.

Natalie was stirred when Dan got up, but she didn't show it. She immediately went into self defense mode, not remembering it was just him, and was still as a statue, but ready to pounce at any moment. Her mind sharp. That's when she understood that she was a little saddened that Dan had to leave. She woke up a few times during the night and noticed that Dan was beside her. Not really sure why, how or when he had gotten there, but knowing that made her feel safe. She guessed she had just cuddled to him during the night as a reflex. She missed him now that he was gone. Then she remembered her Christmas gift to him. She was going to cook for him all day. She had had many cooking lessons from high class chefs in Italy and France and knew her way around the kitchen. She couldn't go shopping for a gift because of having to keep an eye out in the CCC, so she decided this would be a good enough present for him under the circumstances. She went off to brush her teeth, a smile in her eye for the excitement of the day.

Dan herd a noise in the kitchen. He went right into ninja mode. Poised in attack position, he crept in. He saw the fridge door open. He leaped through the air and slammed the fridge door shut at the same time sending the intruder to the ground. He got ontop of them without a second thought pinning them to the ground. "You are in my house uninvited and I demand to know who you are!" He shouted into Natalie's face, obscured by a mess of long dark hair.

"Daniel Cahill! It's me you idiot!" She spat in his face shaking the hair out of her face.

"Natalie?" Dan said, dumbfounded. "What are you doing down here in the kitchen?" He asked, unaware he was still on top of her.

"Making you you're Christmas present bozo!" She shouted at him. "I'm cooking for you the whole day. I couldn't buy you anything on such short notice so this is all I've got." She said a little sheepishly.

"Oh." He said, still taking it all in. "Well thanks I guess." He said, honestly grateful for the gift. "You know, we never did do a ton of gifts on Christmas in this house." He said, a whimsical look in his eye. "We just did a few really thoughtful, meaningful gifts to and from one another. So I really appreciate this thank you."

He looked back down at her and noticed her focus was on something above them. He was confused at first but then remembered, the mistletoe he had put there. She looked a little horrified and a little oh-well and oh-crap in her eyes he noticed. "Well you know the rules" He said to her in an -oh-well-let's-get-this-over-with tone of voice. But he was actually a little curious to see what his first kiss would be like.

She looked up at him again with nervousness in her eyes. Then they cleared. She shrugged a little shrug then wiggled her arms out from under Dan's knees, moved her hands to his shirt collar and pulled him in for a quick and soft kiss. Truly she was to scared to do anything more for her first kiss. But she liked it. It was soft and innocent, as though they both knew they were still to young experience or understand anything more intense or meaningful. But they still were both left a little flush over the rush on adrenalin that had washed over both of them with the skin on skin contact.

After what felt like an eternity of just being on the floor starting at one another trying to figure out what had happened, in their own minds, Dan finally spoke up. "You could have just kissed me on the cheek Nat." He said, his immaturity returning to his voice.

"Well I'm a Kabra dude, go big or go home." She said on her high horase, until she noticed what she said that is. "Oh my goodness. Daniel Cahill your American garbage is rubbing off on me." She said, quickly followed by her shoving a laughing Dan off her and onto the ground with a loud thump.

"Oh my gosh," He said in between laughs, "this is the best Christmas ever!"

He got up and walked over to his spot on the counter and help direct Natalie to were everything was in the kitchen to make her chic breakfast of Brie Cheese omelets with red wine braised Peameal Bacon steaks. They ate contently talking about nothing of particular interest or importance, just happy to not be completely alone on Christmas.

Afterward they sat under the tree in their pajamas's and reminisced of the day's before the clue hunt with their siblings. They talked about fights, pranks, birthdays and movies. Everything that old friends would talk about. They wasted the day away talking and laughing. Natalie was forced to make cheeseburgers with fries, as Dan requested in memory of Nellie being in France. They ate and afterward went up to the CCC to check on things. Like always, everything and everyone was fine. They decided to Skype with Amy and Ian to say hi.

I very happy Amy and Ian popped up on the screen. "Hey you guys! Merry Christmas!" Amy said I little teary eyed. "I miss you so much Dan, it's weird not spending Christmas with you." She looked a little sad not to be there.

Natalie noticed Dan was a little glassy eyed too. "We miss you guys too." He said, not showing his emotions. "What did you guys get for Christmas? Natalie's gonna cook for me the whole day as my present!" He said, back into his cherry, child like mood.

"Not bad, Natalie is a remarkable cook." Ian said admirably. "I got your sister this ring." He said showing off a huge diamond on her right hand.

Amy blushed "I still think it's too much money Ian." She said modestly.

They started to gab with each other off to the side, barley remembering that they were talking to Natalie and Dan. "Hello love birds!" Natalie shouted at the screen. _Sometimes they could just be too mushy_, Natalie thought to herself.

"Oh right," Ian said once more to the screen. "Sister, what did Daniel get you for the Holiday?"

She realized she didn't know yet. "Actually he hasn't told me yet." She said casting a questioning look at him. "I should go find out." She said half talking to herself. "Bye guys! Give Nellie and Fiske our best! Merry Christmas!" She said to them and shut the computer promptly.

"Okay, I know you're dying to know but your ride will be here at the end of the day to take you to your gift." Dan said with his hands outstretched to her, as if protecting himself.

She looked at him a blank look in her eyes. "Alright," she said slowly, "if you say so..."

He decided he should take her mind off it. "So! Uh, what do you want to do now?" He asked.

"Let's have a movie marathon!" She said excitedly. " I love your cherry American films! They're so cheesy and sweet." She really did like them.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." He said brightly.

They watched a multitude of movies in the living room, ranging from giant man-eating cats to lovey, mushy chick flicks. They wasted the time aimlessly until they heard the door bell ring. Natalie squealed in excitement and ran to get the door. Dan got up wearily with a little smile on his face and walked to the door. _She's so cute when she excit- what the hell Dan!? Get it together bro!,_ he yelled at himself in his head.

They made it to the door and opened it to find a limo with a butler holding the door open, waiting for her to step in. She was bouncing up and down with energy and dragged Dan into the car with her, not bothering to remember that they were both still in their pajamas's. "Okay you simply must give me a hint as to where we're going." She said.

"No, if I do it'll ruin it. Trust me." He said with authority.

_He's so strong now, no longer a chil-woah. Natalie! Snap out of it! Calm your hormones girl! _She was a little angry at herself after that.

When they reached Natalie was confused. _Calm Waters Mental Institution? _She was starting to panic a little.

"Okay, Natalie, I know you're scared but you just have to trust me with this." Dan said as he took her by the hand and guided her into the intimidating building.

When they walked in they were greeted by a friendly very put together young woman at the front desk. "Nice to see you today. I'm Kelly. Welcome to Calm Waters Mental Institution. How can I help you today?" She asked sneaking a slightly curious glance at a very unnerved looking Natalie, holding onto Dan's hand as though it would save her from any and all dangers she thought lurked in these halls.

"This is Natalie Kabra," Dan said putting emphasis on her name, "and I'm Dan Cahill." He said in a much calmer tone.

"Oh yes," Kelly said realizing what was happening "we have a room all set for you Miss. Kabra. Your three month treatment begins today. We wish you good luck on your road to recovery." She said, "You may now follow me to your room" She said standing up.

Natalie looked mortified. "Daniel, what's going on?" She said, using his whole name for emphasis.

"Natalie, you need to know" He said looking into her eyes. "you've been having weird things happening to you at night. You don't remember them and that worries me. I am giving you this gift of recovery as your Christmas present. Alright? Now you have to go with Kelly now so she can help you." His words were honest and laced simplicity. He pulled her in for a hug and held on to her tight hoping that she would realize that this was only for the better.

She looked at him with the lost look that she had had the day she spoke to Nellie about her dream. Her mind was a mess and she knew it. Some where in the back of her head a voice said, _Now take Kelly's hand and go. _SO She did just that. She didn't look back. She just walked into her future.

Dan felt his heart break a little. He knew he was only helping her by giving her that treatment with the trained Ekat, but it made him hurt a little knowing he himself couldn't do more. He liked when they slept together at night and he felt like he was protecting her. It made him forget his own troubles a little. He felt a tear of hope roll down his cheek. He whispered "Merry Christmas Natalie. Get well soon."


	6. Chapter 6

It was December twenty seventh. Natalie had been in treatment for two days now, but it felt like five years to Dan. Yesterday was spent in the CCC playing Minecraft. He was just trying to keep his mind off Natalie, he was truly curious over what she was doing. He wanted to know everything. What she was diagnosed with, what treatment she would receive, how she was responding to treatment and everything in between. Were they giving her French toast for breakfast? How about lightly buttered popcorn during movies? She hated salty popcorn. He wanted to make sure she was just okay. He tried calling them yesterday to ask if he could talk to her, but they said she was not to have any contact with the outside world. She needed isolation for her treatment they said. All he could do was trust them, it was an Ekat anyway. He was fond of Ned and Ted so he assumed that it would all turn out okay. Although he did have a hard time falling asleep without her next to him. He was just about to drift off to dreamland….then he remembered.

_ Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh CRAP! _He ran down the stairs to clean the house. He forgot that Amy, Ian, Nellie and Fiske were coming home tomorrow morning. The house was still a mess from his and Nat's many movie nights and just the general disorganization of treating that week like summer vacation. It took him three hours to clean the whole house. By then it was four a.m. And they would be home at six. During the meantime, waiting for them to come, he decided to ponder how he would explain to them that Natalie was in therapy.

Fiske would probably tell him it was the right thing to do, help a friend in need. He wouldn't be much of a problem. Nellie might agree with him and remind Dan to be careful with her when she came back, almost like reminding a small child to be careful with their fragile new puppy. Amy would defiantly be a piece of work. She would lecture him more than Nellie on how delicate the human brain is and how in the future he should consult an adult first and blah, blah, blah. Basically treat him as though he had no sense in what he did for her. Even though he knew better than any of them. Dan was honestly a little scared to face Ian. He was just starting to respect the guy again in Dan's thoughts that he would likely be his brother-in-law someday. He knew he cared about Natalie just as much as he did and he wanted him to know that. He was just worried that he would have a hard time believing him.

All this thinking, induced by lack of REM sleep, exhausted him. He made a trip to the kitchen to get a Gatorade from the fridge to wake him up, but he passed out at the counter top right after he opened it. The poor thing was tired of thinking. He just needed a rest.

He had passed out at five and heard keys in the front door at seven. He was confused on the ground at first but then remembered that the Cahills In Paris group were coming back that morning. With a slight groan he lifted his corpse off the floor and trudged to the main hallway. He saw four very tired relatives of his.

"Hey kiddo," Nellie said drowsily, "Don't even bother talking to us. We're just gonna go to bed."

"And you should too." Interjected Fiske, "By the looks of it you're just about ready to fall down."

At the mention of falling down, Dan glanced at his normally clumsy big sister. Only to find her draping herself over Ian and being half-carried by him up the stairs. She sleepily called over her shoulder "Nice decorations by the way!" He was to tired to be thoroughly disgusted. Not to mention he sort of wanted to do the same thing to Ian's sister anyway...

That morning nobody was really full of energy. They all crept slowly downstairs to the kitchen where they would meet up to discuss Paris. Dan was the last to come down.

"Where's Natalie?" A slightly impatient Ian asked.

This jolted Dan fully awake. "That's what I want to talk about. Everyone, you may have strong feelings about this, but I asked you to please hold all questions for the end." His serious tone took everyone by surprise and grabbed their attention.

He quickly briefed them on her nightmares and not remembering them. He simply stated that he knew in his heart that she needed real help and he saw this as the one of the only ways to give to her. He had left out the part of him watching over her at night. But they all still stared at him shocked, Ian's mouth slightly parted in disbelief.

"Dan, you're right." Nellie was the first one to speak. "She spoke to me about one of her dreams one day and I could tell she wasn't all right. You did the right thing." She said to him, sounding very sure of herself.

"And you sent her to a trained Ekat, right?" Fiske asked.

"Yes, once a very close close friend of Uncle Alistair." Dan said reassuringly.

"Alright Dan. You did a good thing." Fiske said. "Give me the number to the center and I will call them just to clear anything up."

"Of coarse, I wouldn't have it any other way." Dan agreed.

"Dan you've really matured, I'm proud of you." Amy said holding Ian's hand.

"Thanks Amy." Dan said, feeling a small bit of pride in this big mess. "Ian are you okay with this?" He asked him gently.

"I had no idea she was hurting that much." Ian said, tears slowly starting to stream down his face. "I wish I had seen it sooner so I could have helped her myself." He was near sobbing now, not caring who saw his love for his sister. "Dan, I cannot thank you enough for helping her. Thanks you so, so, so much. I trust you've done what I couldn't do before." He had calmed his nerves a bit, but the guilt was eating him alive on the inside. The only thing keeping him together was the constant stroking of Amy's hand on his.

"I care about her just as much as you do Ian." Dan said grabbing his shoulder and looking him dead in the eye. "You have no idea." He said half-muttering to himself.

He felt a sudden rush of stinging tears to his eyes. He turned away and rubbed his eyes before anyone saw. He really did miss her. _This isn't any old crush, _he thought to himself _It's a Cahill crush. Filled with years of bad blood, a past of deceit and in this case, mental illness. On top of the typical teenage hormonal surges. _He almost smirked at the thought. It really was dry and harsh to be a Cahill sometimes.

The rest of the day was filled with nothing of particular interest once more as it had been with Dan and Natalie in what now seemed to be the good old days. They ate no lavish meals, just pizza and wings. They took the day slowly, each of them trying to accept Natalie's condition little by little. The only background noise to their quiet day was Fiske and his occasional calls to Calm Waters M.I.

Later on, over a dinner of Macaroni and Cheese, Amy thought she should tell Dan about the truth."Um, Dan, there's something you should know." She said.

The uneasiness in her voice startled him. "What is it Amy?" He asked cautiously.

"Well, Ian and I actually went to Paris to conduct an experiment." She began slowly, "We thought that since we were getting along so well, we could place you and Natalie in a situation were you would have to work and deal with each other for a week and see if that could bring you guys together. We even had Nellie and Fiske stay back a little while to observe you from early on in the experiment." She stole a quick look at him to see if he was convinced. "Ned was even interested in the results!" She added. "He thought there could be some real changes made with this experiment." She really didn't want him to be mad about this.

"You know it's funny," He said, looking off into the distance intently, as though it would bring back his Natalie and her mind "You set out to do a small task and look at what it accomplished. Thank you a lot you guys, this really has changed me forever." With that he went back to eating his dinner, as though it was the most natural conversation he had ever had.

Ian was a little surprised by his reaction. Then it clicked in his brain. A smile crept onto his face. "Daniel, do you have feelings for my sister? This is more than just her mind isn't it?" He was broadly grinning now. Boys would fall all over her back home, but it was amusing to see little Dan have his first crush on his sister.

He kept a steady gaze on him and didn't fluster too much, but his slightly rosy cheeks gave him away. "I learned she's not all bad the past week thanks for asking." He gave a curt smile and resumed eating.

In the rush of emotions that day, it was nice to end on the lighter note of the adorableness of Dan's obvious maturity, that he had developed in one short week, be displayed to the tired and tense Cahills In Paris gang.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well, I've lasted a week so far." Natalie said to herself. It was January first. Natalie had been in treatment for seven days now. She was sitting in her all-white room on her bed looking out the window to the serene botanical garden below her room. At first she was in the same dream-like state she was the day she spoke to Nellie in the morning. She was a little scared to jump into something so brand new, so unexpectedly. But as doctors and nurses introduced themselves to her and she got to even know some of the other patients, she got comfortable with the fact that she would be here for three months to repair her mind. She went to her first official therapy session on the third day she was there. She walked into a small, yet classy office decorated with multiple PhD certificates lining the walls. She saw a short friendly looking woman with her dark hair pulled back into a tight bun sitting in a chair next to a plush sofa. She assumed she was her assigned therapist. The first thing the therapist, Dr. Crane, asked her was, "How do you feel about being here?"

She thought about it. "I feel betrayed." She thought some more. "But only a little." She was starting to get confused. "But I'm happy he sent me here, he knew I needed it, he was trying to be helpful. But I wish he told me. But he did the right thing!" Natalie was flustered. "Urg! Doctor, please tell me why I can't stop thinking of Dan Cahill. I have so many things that I would like to say to him! I also really just miss having him around.

"Oh. My. Goodness." It clicked. "Dr. Crane, I have a crush on Dan Cahill!" The doctor let out a short chuckle. "Not that I'm surprised I guess. Spending a week alone with a rather handsome boy would do crazy things to your mind." She accepted it quickly. If she really was a bit crazy, liking Dan wouldn't be that weird. Would it?

"I'm not surprised." Dr. Crane said. "The nurses said you were holding onto him for dear life when you first came in."

"I don't really remember that part." Natalie said confused.

"Well that's interesting..." She wrote down some notes on a yellow legal pad. "Now tell me Natalie, what was one of your biggest fears, that you can remember, this past week?" She asked.

"Well..." Natalie started talking. Eager to accept help. She talked furiously and constantly. What she didn't know though was that Dan had already told her therapist all of this. This and all the things she didn't remember.

Dan was bored at home. He went back to his normal routine of video games and eating, but still felt like he was lacking something. Like a ringing in his ear that was there before but was now gone, and he kinda missed it. Having Natalie in the house had reminded him that he needed to accommodate for another human being for a week and not just himself. It was refreshing looking out for someone else and not just himself. They had even had fun during movie marathons and what not. By now he had forgotten about the kiss and all the dramatic emotions he was once feeling for her, he decided that those emotions just got in the way of the greater good. Getting his new best friend the mental help that she needed. Just as he was finishing his third slice of pizza in fifteen minutes, Ian walked into the games room where Dan was currently residing.

"Okay Daniel, I'm her big brother so I simply must know," Ian said in an overly-protective voice, "Do you really have feelings for my sister? And if so, what are your intentions with her?" He was giving him an almost, fatherly stern glare.

"Alright, here's the thing 'Papa-Kabra'." Dan said putting quotes around Ian's new pet name. "I'll admit, man to man, that I did sorta like your sister in a more than friends sorta way." Ian smiled. "But, that was just for like a week okay? Just an influx of hormones or something. I now only see her as my best friend and am just trying to give her the mental treatment that she needs. Okay?" He was starting to get a little annoyed at the accusation.

"I thank you for helping her Dan," Ian said sincerely, "I really do. Also, might I add, that if you do decide you just see her as a 'best friend' the moment you see her after the treatment, I will then believe you." He smirked a very Kabra smirk then exited the room before Dan got a chance to make a snide remark about Ian staying away from his sister. _Why is the universe messing with my head man?! This is so tiring!_ Dan thought to himself flabbergasted. He thought it'd be best to just sleep it off. So he passed out in the game room.

"Wow, so it's all over like that?" Amy asked as her boyfriend informed her of the conversation he had had with Dan.

"Yep, he said that it was just a one time thing and that he will never like her again." Ian said matter-of-factually.

"Text book case of hormonal denial." Nellie piped up as she walked into the living room carrying a tray of camomile tea. "This is his first big crush so he's shoving his feelings away not wanting to accept that he's growing up and will soon have to face the emotions of adolescence." They stared at her blankly.

"Basically guys, he doesn't want to deal with the fact that he's growing up. Okay?" She couldn't believe they weren't getting this.

"I get it Nellie it's just," Amy was speechless, "since when did you get so into human psychology?"

"Oh just something I picked up after you guys rescued us from the Vespers, you know." She tried her best not to sound awkward.

"Well how ever you took a liking to it, we're lucky to have you around to help us through this Nellie." Ian said from the bottom of his heart. Being Amy's boyfriend really was turning him soft.

"Thanks Ian," Nellie said, "I appreciate that. Now if you two will excuse me, I have to start lunch. I'm trying a new recipe for Saag Paneer." She said giddily.

She walked out of the room with out a second look back from the two teenage love birds in the living room behind her. _Good, _she thought to herself, _they don't need any more time to look at me and find out I've been studying adolescent and young adult psychology ever since I got back form the kidnapping and suspected there would be some mental disruption amongst our younger Cahills. _She knew they would bombard her with questions if they did so she just saw it fit for them to figure it out for themselves. Plus that was always more fun.

Dan slept through lunch and most of the afternoon, nearly fainting when Fiske told him this after he had woken him up in the game room. "Now go help Nellie cook dinner." Fiske said a bit hastily, "I tell you that girl has got her head up in the clouds today. For lunch she made a pot full of cheese and spinach! With a side of bread! Not the best meal she's ever made my boy..." He ended quietly as he walked off back to his study.

Dan made his way the the kitchen no longer pondering about Natalie but about food. Specifically the lack of food that had entered him that day. When he got there he saw a very relaxed Nellie flipping through a 'Food and Wine' magazine on the kitchen island. In an instant his nostrils were over come with the strong, flavorful scents of Indian cuisine. "What's this I hear about cheese and spinach?" He called to her playfully, the smirk he had obtained from Natalie clear on his lips.

"It's called Saag Paneer twit." Nellie said smiling at the sound of her companion's still groggy voice. "And don't trust what ever Fiske told you, he just didn't like it because it had too much spice for his old self." She enjoyed the company of the once immature Dan, now a budding young man in her eyes.

"Well any way, I don't wanna talk about a meal that I missed. I wanna eat one that should be almost done now." He peered over her shoulder and saw a steaming pot on the stove. "What's in the pot any way? Smells great."

"Left overs from lunch." She replied, "There were so many left overs since you didn't eat, so I just figured I'd heat it up and we'd eat it again."

"And where's this bread Uncle Fiske told me about?" He asked he questioningly.

"It's called Naan dumb bum." She answered, "It's that crusty bread you had before with one of your buddies remember?"

He thought a minute. "Oh you mean Att and the Plov! Good times." He said a small grin spreading across his face. He really didn't want to remember the fact that they were in a foreign country at the time to save his family.

"Yeah, exsecpt for the whole kidnapping part." Nellie said with a shrug. "But what are you gonna do when you're a Cahill?" She said with a wink.

"How can you take it so lightly Nell?" Dan asked, honestly wanting to know. Those days had plagued him until now.

"I try not to think of the past and thing things I felt then," She started, "but only of the future and the things I will experience in those times." She said this with a sort of old wisdom in her eyes, as though she had many more years of experience on this planet then her age would normally allow for.

Tears welled in Dan's eyes. "But I tried that Nell, I really have." He said, his voice catching in his throat. "But they keep coming back to haunt me." At the end of his sentence he broke.

He started bawling uncontrollably and collapsed to the floor into a massive heap of sobs. He couldn't control himself and his crying even with him cradled protectively in Nellie's arms despite now being a whole head bigger then her. His loud noises rang through out the house and caused a stir. Amy came rushing down the stairs well ahead of Ian and looking three times as concerned as him. She wrapped her arms around him by time Fiske came into the kitchen. He looked up briefly to see who was holding him and saw her face, "It was all fine till I saw her hurting Amy!" He somewhat shouted at his sister before he resumed crying on her shoulder.

He didn't cry for much longer, ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops. But at the end of it there was a just as shaken Nellie and Amy on the floor beside him. One crying remembering her own ordeals of the dramatic saga, the other crying because of the similar things she had felt like her brother. By now it was around eight and everyone had had an emotionally exhausting day. They all picked at their Paneer, Dan wolfing his down, and ate in comfortable silence. They didn't need words to fix anything. There was nothing to fix. They all had a good cry that they needed and no one questioned it. They watched some newbie's comedy act on late night T.V. then went to bed. Just like the little cozy family they were. Not needing a big dramatic event every two seconds. Two or three was enough for these friends for a day.


	8. Chapter 8

Natalie was feeling very well rested at this institute. She was less tired and had more energy and didn't even know why. It was January eighth and she had completed her second week of treatment. In her mind though it wasn't treatment at all. It was like keeping an oral diary. She talked about her past and present with Dr. Crane and had grown very comfortable with her. She was very kind to her, even though she sometimes made Natalie feel a bit stupid. She would point out obvious solutions to some things she felt were issues. Manley her Dan Cahill issues. She was still a bit confused as to why their past together would still allow her to have a crush on Dan. They had always fought and had never had anything in common. _Then again,_ she thought to herself, _we learnt that we had things in common over that week. _It had been a really good week. Whenever she thought of that kiss she got butterflies in her stomach and a beautiful smile spread across her face. She loved growing up. It was all about crushes and love! Or so she thought.

She was sitting alone in the cafeteria eating her lunch of barbeque chicken and mashed potatoes when Emily Snow, a sweet little eighty year old Irish lady that was suicidal when she came to Calm Waters, came to sit down next to Natalie with her tray of plain mashed potatoes. She had grown close with Natalie and treated her like an old friend, gossiping about scandalous residents and nurses she believed to be, in her words, "sketchy". Natalie missed this companionship with her old friends back in London. The two made quite a pair. They sat in relative silence and looked out the window onto the lake for most of their lunch. Then Natalie spoke up.

"Emily," she began, "Do you think Dan still thinks of me?"

"Aye my dear of course he does." Emily answered affirmatively.

"How can I know for sure?" Asked Natalie, "I don't want to be spending all my time thinking of him while he's just forgotten about me." This worried her.

"Sweetheart, I remember my first love." She said, getting a dreamy look in her eyes, as though remembering her youth fondly. "I was your age and he used to come to my door step every time I was away from school to check up on my and make sure I was okay. When I was ill Thomas would always say that he would one day have enough money to send me to the finest doctor this side of the river to make me better again." She smiled, looking at Natalie.

"The only difference between my Thomas and your Danny is that old Danny boy could actually afford to send you somewhere to get you the help you need." She put on a straight face then. "I will never forget the days I spent missing him when we were apart and I know thanks to his actions that he never stopped missing me either and that is something that you learn to cherish. Being loved back by someone you love."

This gave Natalie hope. She smiled at the floor staring at her sterile white sneakers. Looking as bashful as a young spring doe. "I never thought of it that way." Natalie said, "He must really care to go through all this trouble just to make me better." She said with a more serious look on her face.

Suddenly the lunch room supervisor said that it was time to head outside for a bit for some fresh air and optional yoga. Natalie loved her yoga. She figured it would help her focus on herself for a minute rather than on Dan. "Thanks Emily," She said to the senior, "You really helped point out that he cares."

"Aye, anytime lass." She said to the young girl. "If I were you I'd be more worried about the pill's you're on than boys." She said with a stern face.

Natalie was jolted by this. _Should I really be worried? _She wondered, _it's a mental institute, everyone's on pills….right?_

Dan was fixated on his newest obsession, YouTube. Comedy, How-To, Science and Gaming videos filled his days now. All cooped up in his room day and night. He would wake up to Chonny videos, Shane Dawson during breakfast, drool over iisuperwomanii during lunch and end the day with an assortment of Pewdiepie videos. He basically spent all his time with people who wanted to entertain him and make him laugh. Only, those people weren't in person. He wouldn't miss them when they didn't put out new videos. _You can't miss someone you never had a physical connection with. _He kept telling himself this. And it was somewhat true.

This led him to try and forget the kiss he had shared with Natalie. It was small but boy, it had left a big impression. Natalie made him happy and feel needed, but without her he was getting bored and restless. He was starting to revert back to his old ways of stealing diaries and pulling pranks. He couldn't even include his friends because most of them were still on winter vacation. He was really getting to be annoying. Amy pitied him but also was starting to develop distaste for his old ways. It had been cute when he was younger, but he was a young man now and she was getting sick of his nonsense. She thought she'd occupy him by offering to play Mario Cart with him.

"Not now," was the reply she got, "busy learning ten simple ways to freak out your sister for less than ten dollars." He was glued to his laptop not daring miss one second of the video.

"Dan all you do is stare at that screen and tick me off these days." She was starting to get aggravated, "I can't remember the last time you took a shower or did anything around the house. Ian and I had to take down all of the decorations from Christmas ourselves! It's a big house you know!" She was flailing her arms for emphasis. She was a bit infuriated.

"Why are you going off on me like that!?" Dan yelled, turning to face his sister. "I use to do this stuff all the time and _now _is the time you choose to try to discipline me!? You never had a problem before! Now you have a boyfriend to be all lovey dovey with and now all of a sudden he gives you the backbone you needed to try and make me something you want me to be the whole time!?" He was right up to her face now, steaming.

Amy had a flash of hurt in her eyes then she got mad again. _Really _mad.

"Daniel," She started in a low voice, arms crossed, her eyes staring into his with an icy cold intensity that matched that of the weather outside. "You're right I let it all slide when you were younger. But now you are a young man with responsibilities that you need to start taking care of. Now."

They both stood there, looking at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Time slowed as Dan took this in and took a few deep breaths through his nose, face red.

"Fine," He said at last. "You want me to start acting like a grown up? Well you know what, that's just what I'll do." He started to storm off to his bathroom.

"Oh, and Daniel?" Amy said turning on her heel calmly, "You know for a fact that I was always capable of scaring you like this and that the only reason you're sliding back into your old ways now is because you miss your little Natalie." She finished with a smirk that mirrored that of Ian Kabra's and left before he could deny anything. She felt quite pleased with herself.

Dan on the other hand felt like he was on fire. He stomped into his bathroom and slammed the door shut. He bent over the tap, clutching it, and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Then he turned his gaze up to the mirror and looked at himself. His sandy brownish-blond hair shaggy, a bit of mustache stubble on his upper lip from neglecting to shave that week. His face clear of acne, except for a few black heads scattered about his cheek bones. His face was less round then it had been a few years ago, he was starting to take on an angular jaw, much like his fathers. _Amy's kind of right, _he thought, _obviously I am growing up. Just at my own pace. But she wants me to speed it up? Pft, fine. Let's see how much she likes that….. _Then he grabbed a pair of scissors and went to work.

Natalie decided she would not take her pill that night. _It's not the first time I've rebelled. _She thought to herself feeling nervous about what the outcome might be. Regardless she flushed her pills down the toilet then proceeded to crawl into bed, get comfy under the covers and slowly drift off into the land of sleep….

She was walking around a fog covered field. The only way she knew it was a field was the feeling for morning dew seeping between her toes. Almost like blood running through fingers. She felt relatively at ease in the field but she knew something was off. A sense of uneasiness began to crawl up her back. It left a shiver down her spine. She came across a barbed wire fence but gripped it anyway. It was the only thing she could hold onto if something were to come. Then she saw the back of Dan in the distance; relief washed over her. She saw his taller than her frame and broad shoulders. He was wearing what he always did, a plain tee-shirt with a pair of jeans and no name runners. She called out to him. "Dan! Dan! Oh Dan I've missed you so much." Suddenly the space between them closed. Then she was staring at her worst nightmare. "Oh hi Natalie! Long time no see!" Dan said with a bullet stuck in his forehead, blood oozing out and coating his face and dripping down his body. He smiled and went in for a hug from her, as though he had no idea what was happening to him. When Natalie recoiled back in fear he crooked his head to the side, confused. Then he asked, "Oh this?" With a smile on his face he said, "This is just because you let them put me through hell Nat." His voice became full of bitter hate for her and everything she stood for. He had a look of pure evil in his eyes and a sneer marring his mouth when he swooped in to grab her with his arms closing around her. Then all she saw was black and heard a horrible, blood curdling scream piercing through her ears.

"Natalie, Natalie listen to me you are in our safe place, just the two of us, come to my voice Natalie. Come to my voice." Dr. Crane was holding Natalie's shoulders as two muscular body guards were holding down her arms and legs.

Natalie shot up straight. She was shaking and her throat felt raw. Her body was drenched with sweat and she had no idea what was going on.

Then she saw Dr. Crane and she started quietly weeping into her shoulder. Dr. Crane looked her in the eye and said, "This is why we take our pills Ms. Kabra."


End file.
